Forever Hold Your Peace
by Lily Hanson
Summary: When you know something's up, it's best to speak now or forever hold you peace. That's exactly what Kelly did.
1. The Secret

_Author's Note: I'm back! After much thought, I've decided this was the idea I was going with. It's still in the Ninja Storm world and while I know I've done a lot of that, I also believe it's best to stick with what you know and learn from there. All I hope is that you guys enjoy this new story._

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything._

* * *

The defeat of Lothor had only been the beginning of the rest of their lives. After sealing the evil space ninja into the Abyss and putting down their morphers for good, the Rangers began what superheroes called a normal life.

Shane, Dustin and Tori had taken to their roles as Senseis in their respective elements, and wasted no time in training their new students. Because they were still young, they felt they had a better connection to the students than Sensei Watanabe did, but they also still had much to learn. This was why Sensei Watanabe still had yet to fully give up his position as head Sensei to his son, Cam.

But Cam was well on his way to taking over the Academy. Every day he was learning and training. His father would take him around the Academy grounds in the morning and every time he would restate the code of honour for Senseis and students. The journey was long, but as Sensei always said, getting there was half the fun. Cam found this to be true. He lived up to his status as the Nerd of the group by studying every night before bed. He even found himself enjoying the studies. Learning was never a bore for him.

Hunter was in the same position over at the Thunder Ninja Academy. Sensei Omino was working day and night to make sure his Crimson Ranger was up to the task. He was a few years older than Sensei Watanabe and would therefore need a replacement a few years sooner. But Hunter had always been a fast learner and a natural in the way of the Thunder Ninja. Sensei Omino had no doubts about his future.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the country, Blake was living his dream. He was touring everywhere with friends who shared his passion and skill in motocross. While he missed racing with his brother and Dustin, he loved never knowing if he was going to win or lose the next race. He would never say he was better than his brother or friend, but the odds were always on his side.

Not to mention the money and the fame. Blake knew he could live without the luxuries and the popularity, but he wasn't about to complain. Life on the road could get very lonely for him, and every once in a while it was comforting to know that there would be some dude in a bar who would accept him because he was a motocross superstar, or some woman who would keep him company on cold nights. He never thought he would get into that lifestyle, but here he was, and he was loving it.

At first, it was hard for everyone knowing that a part of them was all missing. No matter how much people hated each other at first, once you became Rangers and worked together to save the world, you became family. The boys were your brothers, and the girls were your sisters. Sometimes it was a little more intimate. Blake and Tori would have been lying if they said they never got together before Blake took off. But nothing ever happened between them. The months apart led to years, with only a few awkward visits in between. While Blake still felt something for the surfer he left behind, he knew she had moved on.

In fact, she was marrying his brother. Blake had his plane ticket home sitting on top of a suitcase he had packed and ready to go. While he was upset that he was losing her, he knew that as long as she was happy, he could live with her decision. After all, Tori knew about his current lifestyle, and she accepted it. While Blake was sure he would have been invited to the wedding either way, due to the fact that Hunter was his brother, it was nice knowing Tori wanted him there as well. In fact, she had been the one to e-mail him to make sure he had received the invitation. Not Hunter, but Tori.

But Blake wasn't the only who felt a little uneasy about Tori and Hunter's wedding. Kelly, Dustin, Hunter and Blake's former boss and now great friend to the Rangers, had the same feeling lurking inside. The feelings weren't for Tori though, but for Hunter.

The red head didn't know when she had fallen in love with Blue Bay Harbour's brooding bad boy. It could have been the moment she met him, or the moment Tori ran into her store, flashed her engagement ring and asked Kelly to be the maid of honour. Jealousy was a strong emotion, after all.

Kelly had her reasons for being upset, though. She was Tori's girlfriend and her only confidante when it came to boy troubles. Sure, Tori now had two sisters named Marah and Kapri who she hung out with, but they hadn't reached long-time friend status yet. Kelly knew something about Tori that even Tori didn't know, and unfortunately, if no one else figured it out, it was going to make for a very unhappy ending for everybody.

The Storm Charger owner would have said something before the day of the wedding, but there was only one thing stopping her. Hunter was truly in love with Tori. He had asked her out after getting the OK from his brother. He had won her heart. He got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Hunter's feelings were genuine, and Kelly couldn't spill Tori's secret without hurting the man she had developed feelings for.

Strong feelings.

But something had to be done, before he committed himself to a woman who wasn't committed to him. Tori wasn't doing this on purpose. If she knew her own secret she would never put herself or Hunter through this ridiculous relationship and crazy wedding.

She was in love with Blake. Truth be told, she was still in love with Blake. From the moment she first laid eyes on him, all the way up to the day of her wedding. She had suppressed her feelings for Blake though once he left. She hadn't done a very good job. Because she couldn't have Blake, she settled for the next best thing: his brother.

On some level, she must have known she was doing it, but consciously, Kelly knew Tori was blind to her own feelings.

So, instead of standing beside Tori looking happy and proud for her best friend, Kelly was nervous and shaky. She continued to gulp loudly throughout the ceremony. Hunter and Tori didn't hear, as they were too lost in each other's eyes, but Dustin, Hunter's best man, kept looking over at Kelly.

He noticed she kept looking at the door. Dustin assumed Kelly was just nervous because Blake said he was going to arrive late, the reason he wasn't Hunter's best man. The earliest flight home after his last race was still too late for the wedding. Dustin wasn't sure how Tori would react to someone interrupting her wedding, even if it was her new brother in-law, but with the way Kelly was standing, as if something terrible was doomed to happen, he could only assume Kelly was trying to avoid any problems.

But, when Blake did walk in, he did so quietly. Hardly anyone noticed him creeping into the wedding. Dustin did, and he knew Kelly did, because she finally turned back to the _happy_ couple.

Suddenly, Kelly heard the words she had been waiting for.

"… Speak now or forever hold your peace," the minister said as he looked out at the crowd of people.

There was a long silence and looks were exchanged. No one wanted to say anything and they wanted to make sure no one else was going to say anything. But just as the minster was about to marry Tori and Hunter, Kelly stepped forward.

Her heart pounded against her chest and her hands were shaky as she looked at the minster.

Over in his seat, Shane leaned over to whisper to Cam, "Maid of honour… I did not see that coming."

"Tori can't marry Hunter," Kelly said.

"Do you have a valid reason why these two should not be wed?" the minister asked.

Tori looked over her shoulder and pointed a sharp and hurtful glare Kelly's way. She was seriously regretting her decision to make Kelly maid of honour.

"Tori's in love with another man," Kelly announced regretfully and she turned to Tori, "I'm sorry."

"Tori?" Hunter frowned as he looked at his almost-bride. Tori turned to him, her face red.

"I don't…" she said. She turned back to Kelly, "I don't."

"Then why was it, five minutes before the wedding, you kept asking me if Blake was going to show up?" Kelly asked.

Tori scoffed loudly, "He's Hunter's brother! Of course I'm going to wonder when Blake's going to arrive."

"You said you wanted him at your wedding. He needed to be here."

"For Hunter!"

Kelly looked past the bride, "I can't let these two get married," she said. "I can't let it happen. If that's a valid reason then I've done my job, if not then… I can't watch as Hunter and Tori make the biggest mistakes of their lives."

With that, Kelly stepped down and rushed out of the church and just like that the wedding was ruined. Tori threw her bouquet to the ground and started to tear.

Dustin looked down at Shane and Cam, "Dudes, the Maid of Honour is supposed to keep the bride from killing everyone else when things go bad, right?"

"Dustin…"

"I'm just saying… who's going to keep the bride from killing the maid of honour? A ninja bride?"

Dustin whispered that last part so only his friends would hear him.

Hunter, who had been trying to console his bride, suddenly handed Tori over to Dustin.

"Take care of her for a minute," he asked his best man before storming out of the church, in search of the woman who completely ruined the happiest day of his life.

He found Kelly standing just outside the church, searching through her bag for her car keys. He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around.

"I hope you're happy," he shouted, "You've ruined everything."

"Hunter, please let me explain," Kelly begged, but Hunter wouldn't have it.

"I don't know if what you said is true, but even if it was it's none of your business. Tori loves me just as much as I love her. If there was any doubt about that, do you really think we would be getting married."

"You don't see it!" Kelly said. "Neither of you!"

"And you do?" Hunter asked. "What are you, some kind of crazy mind reader who knows things about people that they don't know about themselves?"

"Hunter…"

"Save it!" Hunter shouted. He let go of Kelly's arm and shoved her backwards. "You selfish, stupid little… bitch! If you think this is going to keep us from getting married, then you're wrong. We'll march down that aisle a thousand times before we let you come between us. You and your stupid little theories aren't going to keep us apart."

"Hunter…"

"Just, shut up," Hunter growled before turning around. Kelly groaned loudly as she watched him walk back into the church. She sunk to her knees and let the tears roll down her cheeks.

She had done it. She had done what she thought was best. Now she just had to wait and see if it would work out for the best.

Hopefully, she hadn't just ruined everything.


	2. The Morning After

At Storm Chargers everything seemed normal. Any customer could have walked into the store, and he would have no clue that only a few days before, the owner and the employees had gotten themselves into a messy situation.

Kelly was doing a good job with her façade. In fact, no one could tell she had been the one to start all the drama. She was behaving normally, both around customers and around her current employees. One truly had to know better to see this was all just a cover up. The few people who did know better, Dustin and Hunter, were either keeping their mouths shut, or avoiding Kelly like the plague. While Hunter still had this time booked off from work, because he was suppose to be on his honeymoon, he was coming into work anyways. Now he had a ruined wedding to pay for, as well as fees for cancelling the honeymoon at the last minute. Kelly was only too happy to help him out by giving him extra shifts. She was the reason he needed the money anyways.

While Dustin and Hunter did still work at Storm Chargers, they weren't as committed as they had been before, because of their Sensei duties. Most of Hunter's time remained dedicated to studying the Thunder Ninja Academy so he could soon take over. Dustin had his teaching job as well that he needed to put first. Training hundreds of students five days a week really took a toll on him, but he couldn't leave Kelly on her own with a bunch of newbie employees. Neither could Hunter.

So, they told Kelly they were studying to become teachers (she had laughed at the idea of them becoming teachers), and they needed time to study. The red head had accepted that as the truth, as funny as it was, and started giving them less hours so they could have enough time in a day to balance all their activities. But, with two full-time employees getting less hours, Kelly needed someone to fill in the spaces.

She had hired two high school students, Alexander and Olivia, who took turns coming in after school (depending on their work schedule). Kelly was working a little more to cover up the small gaps in her schedule, but right now, work was the only thing distracting her from her situation.

"Libby, careful!" Kelly called as she dropped her clipboard and rushed to the backroom to help Olivia with the boxes she was trying to carry to the front. Hunter's motocross bike had been stashed away in the back for safe keeping while he worked. He always enjoyed going riding right after working a shift.

Olivia was careful not to drop any of the boxes, especially as she tried to work her way around the bike, but as fate would have it, Hunter's helmet had fallen to the floor, and Olivia only noticed the moment she stepped on it and slipped.

There was a crash as the boxes opened up, spilling tools, merchandise and equipment all over the floor. Just when Kelly and Olivia thought things couldn't get worse, Hunter's bike started to tip over.

Kelly raced into the backroom and caught the bike before it fell over. She set it back up straight before running over to Olivia and helping her up.

"Are you okay?" she asked her young employee. Olivia nodded.

"I've had much harder falls," she said. She got back on her knees and started putting the things that had fallen back into their boxes. Kelly looked at the floor and noticed Hunter's helmet had been the cause of the fall. She picked it up and stormed to the front of the store.

Hunter was busy helping a customer select a new jersey, but Kelly couldn't care less. One of her young employees had taken a bad spill and could have hurt herself severely.

"What the hell is this?" Kelly shouted, butting right in between Hunter and the customer.

Alexander noticed the situation immediately and dropped his pen and bored expression to assist the customer, taking her away from Hunter and Kelly before she complained.

Hunter looked at Kelly and snatched his helmet, "That is a helmet," he snapped as he started to walk away. "If you need to ask basic questions like that, then you might want to reconsider owning an extreme sports shop."

"Cut the bullshit, Hunter," Kelly said. "That helmet almost cost Libby her life!"

Hunter glanced at the backroom to check on Olivia. She seemed perfectly fine.

"Don't you think you're overreacting?" he frowned at his boss. "Or, maybe you just know something about another woman that she doesn't even know about herself? Maybe, if you're lucky, then this time, you're right."

Kelly backed away. She took the helmet from Hunter.

"Alright… just helmets on the table in the back and not on your bikes. If they fall again, someone might get hurt."

"Whatever," Hunter rolled his eyes and went back to work. He didn't care for his attitude towards his boss. She owed him big time.

Kelly returned to the backroom and placed Hunter's helmet on the table while letting out a long, deep sigh. Olivia turned to her boss and was about to ask about the sigh when Alexander walked in, holding a five dollar bill in his hand.

"Tip!" he exclaimed happily, waving the bill in Olivia's face. "That customer was so grateful for my dedicated customer service that she gave me this five dollar tip!"

"Grow up, Alex," Olivia frowned, swatting the bill away. "It's five bucks, big deal. We all know you're going to blow it on lottery tickets."

"Hey, Shane pays for those. I just play them for him," Alex said, but Olivia wasn't convinced. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Alex shrugged. It didn't matter if she believed him or not. He wasn't going to share his eventual winnings with her. "And anyways, this money is going towards car payments. My rents say that if I can pay for half, they'll buy me a car."

"Used and run down," Olivia laughed. "You'll be lucky if you get fifty miles out of whatever shit-mobile they'll buy from the dump."

"Just because daddy's rich and bought you a convertible for your sixteenth, you think you'll all high and mighty."

Olivia stuck out her tongue before finally going back to her boss, "You didn't have to yell at Hunter, you know. The helmet fell, that's it. It's not like her wanted me to trip."

"He knows where to put it," Kelly growled, rubbing her temples. She tried working her way over the mess Olivia was still trying to clean and she nearly tripped on screwdriver that was still on the ground. "Guys, can you just clean this up fast before someone actually gets hurt?"

"Can do, Madam!" Alex saluted before dropping to his knees to help Olivia. Kelly rolled her eyes.

"Please don't call me Madam," she said. "It's creepy!"

As Kelly walked back out to the front of the store, she saw Dustin and Hunter sitting on the couches. She checked her watch, realising they were both due for a break. Either way, she was going to let them be.

Hunter scowled when he saw Kelly coming back and Dustin shook his head.

"Okay, dude, so she ruined your wedding. You'll have another one, right? Then you get two weddings! Two best days of your life, dude!"

"Dustin," Hunter tried to say calmly, but Dustin could tell there was anger in his voice, "Tori's devastated, I'm appalled and now we have this giant mess to clean up. Not to mention all the calls we've been getting asking about our relationship."

"Where is Tori now?" Dustin asked, finding it a little weird that hunter would be at work if Tori was devastated.

"By now she's probably surfing with Shane or Blake," Hunter said. Dustin nodded.

"We can probably guarantee she's surfing, but Shane texted me like five minutes ago to ask if I wanted to go to the skate park with him."

"Then she's with Blake."

"Do you really think she would hang out with Blake after all this?"

"Why not?" Hunter shrugged, "Kelly's making stuff up. Tori doesn't have to stay away from Blake because Kelly's got a stupid idea in her head."

"She might, though," Dustin said. "She might be surfing alone."

Hunter shook his head, "Naw, she'd never do that again. She promised Blake she never would after last time."

Dustin looked at Hunter for another moment before patting his shoulder, "Whatever you say, dude. I'm going back to work."


	3. Blake's Replacement

The waves rolled up and down the beach, bringing in the water and leaving it to slide back into the ocean across the cool, moist sand. While Tori would normally be in the water, far from the coast, on her surfboard waiting for the next amazing wave, today, she was sitting in the sand. She sat on her light blue beach towel, with her surfboard resting on the spot beside her. Other her other side, Blake was sitting on his Navy Blue towel. He didn't want to say much to her, in fear of having her lash out at him, but he didn't want her to be alone at the moment. It was devastating enough knowing one of your best friends ruined your wedding day, she didn't need to think that all her other friends were going to abandon her.

Tori finally scoffed, breaking the long silence between the two former blue Rangers. Blake looked at her as she shook her head.

"Can you believe her?" she asked. Blake shrugged his shoulders. He knew she was talking about Kelly, and the answer was definitely supposed to be yes, but he couldn't blame Kelly for doing what she did. He had no idea why she would stop the wedding. What Tori felt for him was her own problem and none of Kelly's business. Unless Kelly had something to gain, Blake couldn't see why she would do it. But he was happy, in a way, that his brother and Tori weren't fully committed yet. While he wanted his blue Ranger to be happy, a part of him still wanted to claim her.

"She's crazy, Tor," Blake answered her. "Right now she's probably beating herself up about it. Maybe she had too much to drink at the bachelorette party?"

"She was my designated driver," Tori shook her head; "There's no way she was drunk. That bitch knew exactly what she was doing. Actually, I take that back, she has no idea what she was doing because we don't have feelings for each other."

Tori turned to Blake waiting for him to confirm her statement. Blake looked down at the sand and started tracing images in it with his finger. Tori leaned in closer.

"Blake, we don't have feelings for each other, right?" she asked.

Blake shrugged, "We did," he said.

"Okay," Tori nodded her head, "We did. We were together once. But that was a long time ago. Before you left for Factory Blue. We've both moved on. I'm with Hunter and you're…"

"Still single," Blake answered her. "Well, actually, there's one girl over in Briarwood who thinks we're dating. But I broke up with her months ago. She just refuses to accept it."

"She's not psycho, is she?" Tori asked with concerned. The lifestyle of the rich and famous (even if Blake wasn't quite there just yet) was a little insane to her, and she knew how some girls could be territorial about their famous, rich boyfriends.

Blake shrugged, "I haven't seen her in weeks. I dumped her again at a race a few weeks ago, in public, and she just left."

Tori nodded while looking out at the water, "Okay, so you're single now, but you still moved on. It's not like we're going to ever go behind Hunter's back and hook up again. It's not like I'll ever leave him for you."

"Maybe Kelly's just trying to protect him. Maybe she's testing you in some weird way."

"Well, it's cost her my friendship," Tori said. She looked back to Blake, "Why are you defending her?"

"I'm not…"

"Yes, you are," Tori laughed. She shoved Blake playfully, "Aw, don't tell me you like her and you don't like hearing me bitch about how much of a bitch she is."

"I don't like her… like that," Blake frowned. Tori laughed again.

"You like Hunter. I mean, like-like Hunter."

Tori expected a disgusted and mortified response from Blake. Instead, he blushed and turned away from her. Her laughter died as she stared at her blue Ranger.

"Ew…"

"No, no," Blake shook his head, realising what she must have thought, "Oh, god no. I don't like Hunter. Not like that. He's my brother! I could never!"

"Well, if you don't like Kelly, and you don't like Hunter, then it must be me," Tori poked Blake playfully on the arm as she said this. Her voice danced in a sing-song tune and she smiled brightly. She was only teasing, but Blake blushed harder.

Tori finally noticed he was nervous around her. She blinked.

"Blake…"

"Who says I like anyone?" Blake shrugged defensively. "Maybe I'm just defending her because I think she might have a point."

Tori's face went from serious to dead serious. It was the kind of expression that Blake and the boys understood as Angry Tori. She let out a snort.

"Wow, being a motocross superstar has really given you a big head, hasn't it?" she asked him. "Almost overnight you have the magical ability to get any girl in your bed, and you honestly think that applies to any and all girls when in reality that only applies to whores and prostitutes."

"I never hired a prostitute," Blake said, "And what are you…"

Tori stood up, grabbing her surfboard as she did.

"I've moved on, Blake. We fooled around once! ONCE! It didn't mean anything and it didn't turn into anything. In case you forgot, I'm in love with Hunter! Not you, but the brother you left behind! You left us behind and you can't pick up again from where you left off."

"Tori…"

"Life moves on," Tori growled. "Get used to it. If you want things to stay the way they were, then _you_ have to make the effort. If not, then we're all just going to finds ways to replace you! That includes Hunter, and that includes me."

The surfer picked up her towel and draped it over her shoulder before turning her back to Blake and storming off. The former ninja had to duck to avoid a smack in the head from Tori's surfboard.

As he watched her walk away, he started playing over what she had just said in his mind. Maybe he was reading into it too much, but was it possible that she and Hunter had replaced him with each other? Was it possible that maybe that was what Kelly was seeing?


	4. Blake Backs Up Kelly

Over the next few days, things were really starting to get tense around Storm Chargers. Hunter was working a lot more than usual so he could pay off all the debt from the wedding and the honeymoon that he and Tori never got to enjoy. All these extra hours in Storm Chargers meant that he was around Kelly a lot more often. His refusal to talk to her unless in the best interest of a customer made the entire atmosphere of the store fell pretty tense.

Alex and Olivia had felt the tension the moment they stepped into work on a Saturday morning. Neither were happy for being scheduled to work a 9-5 shift on a Saturday, especially not that Hunter wasn't taking his vacation like he was supposed to. Alex and Olivia weren't in the best mood, they weren't even very alert yet, but even they noticed something very different about the store.

Kelly was working cash, as she normally did at this time in the morning. Hunter had already clocked in and was working in the back, as far away from Kelly as he could be. Alex took Olivia's jacket with him as he went to the backroom to put their stuff away (chivalry wasn't totally dead). While he was back there he noticed Hunter would occasionally eye Kelly with a look that could kill.

Back in the front of the store, Olivia noted that Kelly seemed distracted. There wasn't much to hold her attention at this ungodly hour, but she still seemed distant. The seventeen year old bounced over to her boss, hoping that would snap her back to reality.

"Morning," she chirped to mask her temporary hatred of the woman who was responsible for getting her out of bed on a Saturday morning. Kelly turned to the high school girl but didn't say anything. She simply waved. It was a pathetic wave at that.

Alex walked back, joining the two girls in the front of the store. He pointed over his shoulder to Hunter.

"What the hell is eating him?" he asked.

Kelly shrugged, "Haven't you ever wondered why I gave Hunter a few weeks off?"

"I thought we were all going to take turns," Alex joked with a smile. "First Hunter, then maybe Dustin, then me and Lib."

"You're not going to give us two weeks off are you?" Olivia asked with a worried tone. "I'm trying to save up for a snowboard for the winter!"

"Daddy not paying for you?" Alex teased. Olivia turned and punched him in the arm.

Kelly shook her head, "You're not getting vacation time," she said. "You schedule your own time off."

"So, Hunter asked for his vacation and you granted him that much time because…" Olivia trailed off, hoping it would push Kelly to answer her question. It was at this point that Tori walked into Storm Chargers. She brushed right past Kelly and the two students as she made her way over to Hunter. Alex' eyes widened with enlightenment as he pointed to the woman who had so rudely ignored him.

"That's his fiancée!" he cried. "He was getting married, wasn't he?"

"Wow, there is a brain in that head," Olivia smirked. She looked back at Kelly, "Time off for the wedding and then the honeymoon afterwards."

"The wedding was last Saturday," Kelly nodded. "As you can probably tell, neither Hunter nor his almost-bride are anywhere near a tropical and romantic island for two."

"She left him, didn't she?" Alex asked. "She never showed up and now Hunter's just mad at everyone! Now she's here to explain herself and beg for his forgiveness."

"Actually, they were one step away from being totally committed," Kelly corrected her employee. Olivia frowned.

"What happened?"

Tori walked out from the back room and purposely bumped Kelly. The red head didn't respond. Tori was going to be angry; it was a fact Kelly knew before causing her best friend and her romantic interest a world of hurt.

When Tori left the store, Olivia put the pieces together.

"You happened!"

"You do have a brain in that head," Alex mocked his fellow employee. Olivia turned to him again and smacked him.

Kelly shook her head, dismissing the subject, "Your shifts started five minutes ago. If you really want money and a snowboard, I suggest you two get to work."

"She's hiding something," Alex whispered to Olivia as she two rushed to the punch clock. Kelly smiled and shook her head again. She loved working with the two high school students because their lives were still so simple and fun. They were energetic and curious and while they weren't always ready for it, they were always willing to take on a little more responsibility to show they were just as good as their seniors. It made doing what she loved a lot more enjoyable than it already was because she had that little element of youth. While Kelly wasn't old at all, she was nearing her thirties. Having a seventeen and a sixteen year old served as a reminder that there was still a lot of fun and play left in her.

With no one to talk to anymore and no customers to help, Kelly started fiddling around with the tools and gadget behind the counter. She started pressing buttons and clearing the screen on her cash and tapped her pen against the counter. The door rang as someone finally walked through it. Kelly's head shot up, hoping it would be someone who needed her help. Her hopes came crashing down when she noticed it was Blake.

"Oh," she said aloud as Blake walked over to her. Blake stopped in his tracks and frowned.

"What a way to great a former employee."

Kelly smiled and rushed around the counter to greet him with a hug. While he had now been home for a week, this was the first time Kelly had actually gotten the opportunity to see and hopefully catch up with him.

"How are you?" she asked him. Blake shrugged.

"Um, all things considered I'm doing okay," he said. "And before you ask, racing for Factory Blue is amazing and I don't regret leaving."

"Glad to hear it," Kelly smiled.

"How are you doing?" Blake asked gently. It was a stupid question to ask, given he had been present at the wedding, but social protocol demand he show interest in her life.

Kelly shook her head, "Don't get me started. For one thing Hunter's working with me so the past week has been awkward."

"I wanted to talk to you about that," Blake said, before Kelly could go off on her long rant. "He's mad at you because of the wedding, right?"

"No, you see, two weeks ago I accidentally ate his sandwich," Kelly replied sarcastically. "He'll never forgive me for _that_."

"Whatever," Blake said, "You really believe Tori likes me, not Hunter, right?"

"No," Kelly shook her head, "I know she likes you, and she likes Hunter just as much…. Just in a different way. And that way is not a reason to get married."

"I think I agree with you," Blake frowned. Kelly looked at him for a moment before laughing and rolling her eyes.

"Ego much?" she said. "The lifestyle of the rich and famous has really…"

"It's not my ego or the crush I still have on my almost-sister-in-law!" Blake nearly shouted, but he kept his voice down so Hunter wouldn't hear him. "A few days ago I was talking with Tori and…"

"Did she say anything?" Kelly asked, suddenly extremely interested. What Blake was about to say could help or hinder Kelly's argument about why she needed to ruin the wedding.

"Tori mentioned everyone replacing me because I've been gone for so long."

"Have you met Alex?" Kelly said as she pointed to her youngest employee. Blake turned to look at the boy for a moment and waved when he made eye contact with his replacement. He looked back at Kelly.

"She was a little more specific about who everyone was. She said that she and Hunter tried to replace me. I don't know if I'm reading into her words too much, but if you're thinking the same thing, maybe you're onto something."

"That Hunter and Tori don't love each other the way they think they do?"

"Exactly!" Blake nodded. "Like, maybe they replaced me with each other! It would make sense. I mean, when I mentioned that you might be right about her liking me, Tori flipped out and ran as fast as she could. I've tried talking to her since, but she's been cold and a little jumpy."

Kelly smiled as she heard this. If Blake had come to the same conclusion as her, without her influencing him in any way aside from what she told everyone at the wedding, there was a chance that's she was right about Tori and Hunter not being right for each other. At least if she was right, then all this pain and grief wouldn't be for nothing, and maybe things would work out in the end for everyone, including her.

It was selfish, but Kelly never would have done it if she didn't think it would help everyone. She was being selflessly selfish. After all, if she had a single doubt in her mind or if she doubted herself for a moment, she never would have put two of her best friends in such a position and she never would have caused them this pain.

She still wasn't sure of the outcome, but at least with Blake's thoughts on the table, and on her side, Kelly felt a little better about what she had done.


	5. Tori Confronts the Truth

After Blake had given Kelly a little hope about her "good deed" towards her friends, Kelly felt much better about herself, and about what she had done. The only problem she faced now was talking to Hunter and Tori and getting them to understand why she had completely ruined their wedding. She could only hope that Blake would join her for that talk. A little bit of back-up might be what Hunter and Tori needed to see her truth.

The red-head rolled out of bed as her alarm went off. It was only 4:30 in the morning, but if Kelly wanted to open her store at 7:00 she needed to be up at this ungodly hour. Lazily, she grabbed her glassed from her night table and walked over to the other side of the room to shut off her alarm. The buzz was loud and inconsistent, making it impossible to fall asleep to, and by getting out of bed to turn it off, Kelly had no reason to fall back asleep.

Her apartment always felt very empty at this time of day. While she lived alone, she only ever noticed it when her home was dark. She made her way to the kitchen and flicked on the lights, blinding herself for a moment. Thankfully, she knew the layout of her own house and she could make her way to the fridge without her eyesight.

By the time she made, eaten and cleaned up breakfast, as well as showered and fixed her hair, it was already 6:30. The drive to work was only ten minutes, leaving Kelly with nearly twenty minutes to get everything set up for the day. As the entrepreneur grabbed her keys for the car and turned to the door, she jumped in fright. Standing right there in the middle of her foyer was Tori.

"What the hell are you, some kind of ninja?" Kelly asked. "How on earth did you get in here without me noticing?"

"I have a bone to pick with you," Tori growled. Kelly placed her hand over her heart and took a moment to catch her breath. While she did that, she also checked her watch. She was surprised that, like herself, Tori was already up, showered and ready for the day. It was now only 6:35 in the morning.

"You got up early to do this?" she asked.

Tori scoffed, "Do you really think I've been sleeping since you ruined my wedding day?"

Kelly shrugged, "I guess not…"

"You guess?" Tori shouted, ready to punch Kelly as hard as she could, hoping to cause the older woman the same pain she was feeling. But Tori didn't let herself strike Kelly. She knew that her punch, if done properly, could seriously injure or kill Kelly, especially seeing as Tori was aiming for her ex-best-friend's head. While Tori wanted Kelly to hurt, she still wouldn't allow herself to do anything that would physically hurt her. "Do you know how humiliated I was? I was standing there in my wedding dress and nothing happened! I had been panicked, had cold-feet and…"

"I know, Tori, I was there," Kelly nodded. Tori's eyes widened in fury as she shoved Kelly.

"You told me everything would be okay!" she screamed. "You convinced me this was going to be the best day of my life and I would never regret it!"

"I said a wedding is the best day of your life," Kelly corrected. "That obviously wasn't the wedding for you."

"What made you do it?" Tori asked. She crossed her arms over her chest, ready to listen to any excuse Kelly could give her. Not that they would change her mind about what Kelly was and where she could take her theories, but Tori needed to know. Something that broken her heart and she needed answers.

"I told you…"

"No, you didn't," Tori snapped. "That excuse was bullshit. Who gives a damn what I feel about Blake except for me, my husband and Blake. We all know the truth and you have no right to step in. So, what's the real reason?"

"You're going to hate me."

"You have nothing to lose there," Tori shrugged. "Tell me now, or I'm going to put a certain skill to good use."

Kelly let out a deep breath. She looked Tori in the eye, hoping it would help support her point and make Tori believe her. After all, if she showed confidence in her theory, the least Tori could do was considering it as a possibility.

"I know you love Hunter," Kelly started. Tori was about to say something when Kelly silenced her. She continued, "You probably have feelings for him that you've never had for anyone else and I would never do anything to that."

"Yeah…?"

"But those aren't feelings that can be wed. What you and Hunter feel for each other… I don't think it's it. I don't think you're the one for him, and that he's the one for you. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry, but if there's a chance I'm right, I'm not going to let you guys do something you'll regret."

There was silence for a moment before Tori let out a laugh. She shook her head.

"You so full of bullshit, Kel," she said.

"Blake believes me!" Kelly stated quickly. Tori bit her lower lip in anger at the mention of Blake's name.

"You can take your little theories and shove them up you're…"

"I know you're angry but please, Tor, just hear me out."

"I have; it's nonsense and I'm not wasting any more time with you! Hunter and I aren't wasting any more time with you. He's looking for a new place to work. The moment he finds another job, he's gone and I expect you to continue to pay him until you've given him at least half of what we need to cover the wedding you ruined, as well as the honeymoon and the old wedding."

"Tori…"

"Save it!" Tori said as she spun around. Kelly couldn't let her leave in such a huff. She needed to do something to get Tori to see her truth.

"Blake told me he still has a crush on you," she said desperately, hoping that little tidbit of information would open the surfer's eyes. She added more: "And… I love Hunter."

Tori turned back to Kelly, "You what?"

"I…"

"I heard you!" Tori screamed. "You did all this because of unrequited love!"

"No!" Kelly said, a little louder than intended.

"No? You think Hunter loves you back? Hello do you not remember the wedding a week ago where he promised to love _me_?"

"Okay, that played a part of it," Kelly admitted, "But I did it because I honestly believe there's still something between you and Blake and I don't want to see Hunter getting hurt because of it."

"So you're the hero?"

"Blake's feelings for you haven't left! They never have and I don't think they ever will. The only reason you're marrying Hunter is because he's as close to Blake as you'll ever get. The sooner you realise I'm right, the sooner we can all just move on."

Tori growled as she smashed Kelly into the wall and pushed her to the ground. Before checking to see if Kelly was okay she walked out.

Kelly got back to her feet, holding her left wrist. She had landed on it when she fell and it was hurting. She rubbed it gently and checked the time.

7:00

"Shit!" she said as she bolted for the door, forgetting to lock it as she rushed to work.


	6. The Break In

It was after closing time at Storm Chargers and Dustin was helping to close up. He didn't know why, but Hunter had stormed off mid-shift after getting a call from Tori. Of course, as fate would have it, the moment Hunter left the store and ended his shift, Storm Chargers was hit by a mass of incoming customers. Kelly felt like she was drowning in a sea of potential buyers and needed an extra set of hands if she wanted to live. Olivia and Alex offered to work overtime if they received a little extra pay, and Dustin offered to help out for a few hours.

With all that stress behind them, the employees were looking for a little fun to ease their nerves. As Dustin was restocking the front counter, two sets of eyes started to peek over. Dustin carefully watched as the eyes moved up, but made no indication of actually noticing the eyes.

Suddenly, a glove hand was raised over the counter. It reached over and grabbed Dustin's shoulder. The Earth Sensei simply turned to look at the hand before turning to glare at the two sets of eyes.

"You two realise Kelly's paying you overtime to actually work, right?" he said.

Olivia and Alex jumped up from behind the counter and whined, "Aw, c'mon, Dusty," Olivia said. "Where's your sense of play? You were always the most fun co-worker!"

"I heard that!" Kelly called from the backroom. Aside from when the big wave of customers showed up in the store, she had worked back there for most of her shift. She was trying to mask the pain in her wrist. If Dustin noticed it, he would ask where it was from. Kelly would have to tell him Tori did it, if not, he would adopt a protective "who hurt you" instinct. But, if she told him Tori was the cause of her pain, he would ask what she had done to deserve it thanks to her wedding fiasco. While he knew Tori was angry, he, like Kelly, knew it would take more than a wedding disaster for Tori to become violent.

And, because of all that and the growing pain in her wrist, Kelly was in a bad mood and it was best if she stayed away from people if it was possible.

"Hunter's mean and brooding… and unnaturally strict when he's in charge and the Madam is a boss. She's nice, but doesn't count."

"Alex…" Kelly called once again, unhappy with her nickname from Alex. The sixteen year old shrugged.

"Just telling it like it is."

Olivia grabbed Dustin's arm, "We're having a race. Who can finish their closing duties fastest? Wanna join?"

"Sorry Lib, I'm almost done, it would be unfair," Dustin smiled. He was about to return to work when Alex tapped his shoulder.

"We're teenagers, we're not stupid. Don't you think we realise that? We still want to challenge you?"

Dustin rolled his eyes, "Okay. Are you guys ready…?"

"DONE!" both chimed as they raced to the punch clock and punched out. Dustin's jaw dropped. Olivia and Alex chuckled.

"We warned you," Alex said, "We're not stupid."

"We made a contract," Olivia smiled as she pulled some papers from her pocket and presented them to Dustin. "Loser has to take the winner's shifts next week."

Dustin looked at the papers, "No way! I didn't sign up for this."

"We have a witness, right Madam?" Alex called to the backroom.

"I heard that!"

He grinned smugly and pushed the papers closer to Dustin, "Monday from 6:00 to 11:00 for me, please."

"Wednesday from 4:30 to 9:00 over here," Olivia smirked. She high-fived Alex and the two teens rushed out of the building, before Dustin could say anything about their sneaky contract.

Dustin walked to the backroom with their paper in his hands. He let out a loud sigh, alerting Kelly of his presence. She turned to him and groaned.

"What?"

"They can't do this," he said as he showed her the papers. Kelly read them over quickly and she had to laugh.

"It's as legal as mock papers can get. You participated in their contest?"

"Before I knew the rules!"

Kelly laughed again, "Dustin, that's like trying to get out of a DUI because you didn't think to look up the legal blood-alcohol level."

"That happened once."

"Twice now," Kelly laughed. Dustin tried to worm his way out of the extra shifts with a puppy dog face, but Kelly shook her head. "Sorry, Dustin. They need the time off and I told them to find their own cover. Looks like they did."

Dustin pouted as he snatched the papers from Kelly. He crossed his arms and glared at her, hoping to make her uncomfortable as she went back to work. She was finishing up some of her paperwork for the month, wanting to get as much done as possible, as quickly as possible. She hated leaving things like this to the last minute. If she left it to the last minute, then once she was done with January, she would need to get started with February right away. At least this way there would be a small break.

Kelly did a good job at ignoring Dustin, which only made him focus on her even more. That's when he noticed that she was avoiding the use of her left hand. She was writing and typing on the computer with her right hand, and when she needed to grab something or flip the page, she would stop what she was doing and use her right hand for that task as well.

Dustin leaned over her, "You'll get the work done twice as quickly if you use both hands."

Kelly, who was hearing a long-sleeve shirt, turned in her seat and glared up at Dustin. She tugged on her left sleeve and hoped he wasn't going to notice her hiding her wrist.

"You have work to finish," she told him as she pointed to the store. "I suggest you do it before you're out of a job."

Dustin held his hands up defensively, "Whoa, okay, no need to threaten your number one employee. I didn't know you weren't in the mood to…"

Kelly shot Dustin a deadly glare. He took a step back. Even though he was a fully trained earth Sensei, Kelly's angry stares could still scare him straight, almost as effectively as Sensei Watanabe's.

"Sorry," he said apologetically. As he turned to leave he heard a slight sob coming from his boss. He quickly glanced over his shoulder to see if she had started crying, but Kelly was holding her composure, as if she knew he was still peeking. Dustin turned back to the door but walked quietly, hoping to pick up on any low sobs.

"Dustin…" Kelly called weakly. He quickly spun around to face her.

"What?"

"Do you mind finishing this for me?" she asked him as she pointed to her papers. "I think I'm about to crash."

Dustin groaned. He had an early class to teach tomorrow and needed as much sleep as he could. He was still covering for Tori, who was supposed to be on her honeymoon. He didn't mind training the water ninjas, but earth and water didn't mix well. He loved mud as much as the next Earth Ninja/Motocrosser, but there was a certain point where enough was enough.

"Please Dustin?" Kelly begged him.

"Why can't you save it for tomorrow?" Dustin asked. "You have an easy day, right? Hunter's not scheduled… it's just you and the students."

"I know… I just…"

"Does it have anything to do with your hand?" Dustin pointed to Kelly's left hand. He hadn't forgetting about her suspicious behaviour. Kelly tugged on her sweater again. It was swollen, but only slightly. She was sure it was nothing much. She didn't want to risk hurting it further though; another reason why she had stayed in the backroom most of the day.

"Yes, I fell and hurt it."

"Likely story," Dustin laughed. He knew Kelly better than that. He had never seen her fall once. Hell, he had never seen her lose her balance. If anyone was fluid and graceful, it was her.

"It happens," Kelly said.

"Yeah, it happens to other people. What's the real story, Kel?"

Kelly shrugged. Dustin decided to play a guessing game. Given the circumstances surrounding Kelly at the moment, it wasn't a very challenging guess.

"Hunter or Tori?" he asked. Kelly rubbed her temples in frustration.

"Dustin…"

"Look, I don't support what you did, but if they hurt you..."

"It's fine."

"Kelly."

"Dustin."

Worker and boss were locked in a staring contest for a moment until Shane tapped on the window. His body language suggested he wanted to come inside. Dustin broke his gaze and turned to the front of the store. When he turned back to Kelly, she was already gone. He blinked, shook his head, and turned back to the store. Kelly was already at the door letting Shane in.

"How did she…?" Dustin muttered to himself as he walked over to his friends.

"Hunter has a message for you," Shane was telling Kelly. She was clearly already irritable and Shane was starting to think he should have come at a better time. Unfortunately the news couldn't wait long. Kelly was going to find out before she crawl into bed and leave this day behind.

"Why doesn't he tell me?"

"He and Tori aren't on speaking terms with you anymore," Shane said. Dustin smirked as he glanced at Kelly's hand.

"I'll say."

Kelly caught his look and again pulled her sleeve down. She nudged her oldest friend in the ribs and looked at Shane.

"What message did he want to give me?" she asked.

Shane's eyes rolled up as he tried to recall word for word what Hunter asked him to say, "Um, he said to tell you that while he thinks it's hilarious and karma's biting you in the butt and all… he's still man enough to pass on the news that your apartment has been broken into."

"What?" Kelly gasped trying to search for her keys.

"Actually," Shane started again, "There's no sign that it's been _broken_ into per se… but more like bad people walked in and took some stuff."

Kelly let out a frustrated cry as she realised what happened. When Tori stopped by, Kelly had been so wrapped up in telling her friend the truth that she was late for work. Because of that, she forgot to lock the door. A few of her neighbours were sketchy people and if they say the door was left open, or even just unlocked, they would take advantage of it.

Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse. Hunter hated her, it was possible Tori really wanted her dead (she just didn't want to be the one to murder her), her wrist hurt and now her home had been violated.

"Perfect," Kelly muttered to herself as she stormed out.


	7. If She Loves You

Hunter crawled into bed and cuddled up against his should-be-wife. If things had gone as planned, they would be in a bed on a tropical and romantic island right now, instead of in bed at home. But, given that wasn't possible, this was the best he could ask for and he was happy.

To top it all off, Kelly was surely going to have a restless night once Shane passed on the news of the "break in". And, tomorrow, Hunter was going to hand in his two weeks notice, demand that he not get scheduled to work out the two weeks and that Kelly continue to pay him.

Tori didn't seem as at ease as Hunter was. He quickly picked up on it when he saw her chewing her nails.

"Chill," he smiled as he leaned in for a kiss, "Everything's going to work out."

"It's not that," Tori said. She looked at Hunter, "Do you think Kelly's going to blame me for this?"

"Why would she blame you?" Hunter asked. Tori shrugged.

"I kinda stopped by her place this morning," Tori said. "I got mad at her."

"You're already mad at her," Hunter frowned. "In fact, we're both mad at her. But we would never steal her stuff."

"I know… but maybe she'll use us as scapegoats if she can't find the people who actually did this… and it's not like we can prove our innocence, right? We're angry at Kelly… vengeful if you wish, we have no alibis for the time of the theft and… I kinda shoved her this morning and threatened to use a special skill I had."

"But you didn't do it," Hunter said. "Neither of us did it. We know that, Kelly knows that. It's probably just some kids who broke in and took some fancy stuff. Kelly got what's coming to her."

"But… she might…"

Hunter stayed silent. Tori could continue to pick at the little things until the sun rose. If he ignored it, she would soon forget it.

But her nail biting didn't stop. She had dropped the theft topic, but there was still something on her mind. Hunter had noticed she seemed a little uneasy all day, especially at dinner time, but he assumed it was because of the ruined wedding. Tori had been completely devastated over it, and he knew it was going to take some time before she would even consider letting Kelly back into her life, never mind forgive her.

"What?" he finally sighed. Tori turned back to him.

"What?"

"You," Hunter said. "You're not right. What happened today? Did Kelly do something else?"

Tori shrugged nervously, "Kinda. She didn't do anything. I did something but she started it."

"Started what?"

"Well, I went by to her place, right?"

"You told me," Hunter nodded.

"Well… I wanted to know why she spoke up," Tori said. "Her reason at the wedding seemed like bullshit so I wanted to know the truth."

"Did she tell you?"

"She doesn't think we can marry our feelings," Tori explained. "Like… they aren't husband and wife feelings, you know?"

"No," Hunter shook his head. "What other kind of feelings are there? I love you!"

"I know," Tori answered. She snuggled in closer to Hunter, "I love you too… but Kelly doesn't think… she…"

"She doesn't know anything," Hunter said. "She's a jealous bitch who's trying to ruin other people's lives because she hasn't gotten laid in twenty-nine years."

"She's thinks I'm marrying you to marry Blake… or something like that," Tori looked up at Hunter, "Like, you're as close to Blake as I can get."

"But you and Blake had a thing once," Hunter frowned, shaking his head. "You would know if you were settling for me, right?"

Tori nodded, "Of course! I would but…"

"But…?"

"She says Blake still likes me," Tori said. "She… she says there's still something between me and Blake and… she likes you."

"What?"

"Love, actually," Tori continued. "She used the word love. She loves you, Blake loves me…"

"We're one fucked up family," Hunter finished, twirling his finger in fake amusement. He looked at his should-be-wife, "But we love each other, that's all that matters. They can do whatever they want with their feelings. You and I… we know what we want."

Hunter moved in to kiss Tori but she pulled away. There was something inside her that was screaming at her. She didn't know what it was saying. All she knew was that ever since Kelly had told her Blake still had feeling for her the screaming had been present. She didn't want to believe it, but maybe Kelly was right. Maybe there were feelings.

Hunter was devastated when Tori pulled away. He looked her in the eyes.

"Tor…"

Tori looked at him and her stomach turned. Her eyes filled with tears. Her hands and feet were suddenly filled with a cold sweat and she could feel herself shaking.

Suddenly she threw off the blankets and jumped out of bed. She paced around the room, trying to get her thoughts straight.

"Hunter…"

She ran her hands through her hair, "I'm sorry."

"Don't you dare!" Hunter shouted.

"I have to know…"

"Know what?" Hunter asked. "If the Godzilla of weddings speaks the truth? What if she does? What if Blake does still like you? Will you come back to me?"

"I… I hope so…"

"Hope?" Hunter growled.

"I'm sorry…" Tori said and her tears started to spill. She made her way to the door and suddenly she was gone.

Hunter screamed in fury. He grabbed Tori's pillow and threw it at the bedroom door. All he could hope for was that she did come back to him, no matter what Blake said.

But, no matter what happened, Kelly was still a monster for putting him and Tori through this. He didn't care if this did end up working out for the best; he hated her with a passion.


	8. Hunter's Loss

The following day Kelly was dealing with the after effect of the break in. Because she had spent all morning talking to the police and identifying what was missing, she couldn't go to work and open up the store. Storm Chargers was closed for a day and Kelly knew that tomorrow she would have to answer to a lot of customers.

When the police left, Kelly still had a home to clean up. Whoever robbed her had taken the time to look for everything of value. While Kelly didn't wear much jewellery, she still had jewellery box that used to be filled with bracelets, earrings, necklaces and more. The robber, or robbers, had gotten into that and had taken everything.

They found the time to take her TV (which was not easy to carry), her stereo system and her laptop. They had stolen books, DVDs, CD, her IPods and even some smaller kitchen appliances. Her duvet had disappeared, her bed and pillow sheets were gone and, for some reason, they had gone into her bathroom and had stolen all her toilet paper.

Whatever was still left, the robbers didn't leave unscathed. Nothing was where it should have been and there was garbage, torn papers, food, mud, dirt and water all over her floor. Kelly couldn't imagine who would do something like this, nor could she figure out why. If they had simply taken her electronics she would have assumed they were looking for money. If they had taken necessities she would have figured it was someone on the streets who decided to walk into the apartment building and steal from whoever wasn't home. But the entity of stolen items couldn't help her or the police pinpoint the reason behind the crime.

Suddenly there was a knock at her door. She had left it wide open (considering there was nothing left to steal) and could see from her living room that Olivia and Alex had come for a visit. She found this odd but waved them in.

"Shouldn't you two be at school?" she asked her two employees. Olivia nodded.

"Yeah, but we had a half day."

"Libby's dad said you called to tell her not to come in," Alex said.

Kelly groaned and massaged her temples, "Sorry, Alex, did I forget to call you."

"No, you did," Alex smiled, holding up his phone, "It's just you actually gave Libby's dad a reason."

"You told him it was a personal emergency," Olivia nodded. "We got your address from Dustin and wanted to stop by to see if everything was okay."

"That was very nice of you," Kelly said, "But as you can see this is kinda of big deal. I promise you the store will open tomorrow and you guys can work an extra shift if you need the money."

"I'm okay," Olivia said but Alex shifted uncomfortably.

"I might stop by," he said. "Shane's not buying me lottery tickets anymore so there's no hope in suddenly winning a jackpot and using that money to by my car."

Kelly chuckled, "Alex, I'll be honest, you might get the money for your car faster now that you're not focused on the lottery. You can come in tomorrow after school, how does that sound?"

"Great!" Alex smiled.

Olivia looked around the room. It was easy to see Kelly was going to be cleaning for a while. With nothing else to do with her time Olivia politely started picking up some garbage from the ground and tossing it into the garbage bag Kelly had placed on the couch. Alex followed her lead.

"Guys," Kelly started, watching as her two kids started helping her out, "That's really no necessary."

"We wanna help Madam," Alex smirked. This time, and only this time, Kelly didn't give him the stink eye. Instead she smiled.

"Okay, but I'll deal with the garbage. I don't need you kids touching something you shouldn't be touching. You can organise the bookshelf."

"Where are the books?" Olivia asked.

"I'll let you know if the cops find the guy who did this. Just try and take my stuff off the floor and set them on the shelf. I'll find a new spot for them later."

"Can do!" Alex saluted his boss and he got to work. Kelly was thankful for the help. She would have been cleaning her apartment for days if Alex and Libby chose not to show up. She had always known they were hard working kids, but she never expected them to go out of their way to help her, or anyone.

Dinner rolled around rather quickly and Kelly decided to spoil her little helpers with pizza. She had phoned the pizza place almost thirty minutes ago and was expecting the delivery man to arrive any minute. Suddenly there was a knock at her door. Again, because she had nothing left in her apartment that was worth stealing, her door was open. She called out to her visitor to simply walk in.

Hunter stormed into Kelly's apartment, slamming the door behind him as he tracked down the woman who was slowly ruining his life. Kelly was in the living room and Alex and Olivia had moved to the kitchen to clean and set some plates for dinner.

From the kitchen, Alex could see Hunter storming in as he set the plates. He nudged Olivia was she appeared beside him.

"Hunter doesn't look happy," he whispered. Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Alex, what have I told you about memory?"

"Use it," Alex chuckled. Olivia nodded.

"Yes. Remember what Kelly said she did at Hunter's wedding?"

"She ruined it?"

"Yes," Olivia nodded again, "Do you understand why Hunter would be angry?"

"Okay, yeah, but why would he come here to yell at her? If you ruined my wedding I would steer clear of you at all costs."

"You're never getting married," Olivia teased.

Over in the living room, Hunter took Kelly completely by surprise when he shoved her. She lost her balance (already she was crouched down to clean up some garbage) and tried to catch herself with her left hand. It gave out before she could do anything and she hit the ground, hard.

"You're a fucking bitch!" Hunter shouted, trying not to physically assault her once again. He had to keep himself in check if he wanted to prove his point.

"Hunter?" Kelly asked, looking up. She held her wrist as she got back to her feet, "What are…"

"She left me!"

"Tori?"

"No, the mailwoman!" Hunter shouted. "Of course it's Tori!"

"So I was right," a ghost of a smile appeared on Kelly's face. She wasn't happy that she had ruined a relationship, but at least now she felt like she had done it for a good cause.

"No, you planted the thought in her head and now Tori thinks you might be onto something!" Hunter screamed. Out of curiosity and slight fear, Alex and Olivia made their way out of the kitchen to see what was going on between their senior co-worker and their boss. They could only hope that they wouldn't need to intervene.

"Hunter, have you ever considered the thought that I might be right?"

"You're just a jealous… jealous! You're a jealous bitch who thought you could win me over by ripping my heart from its chest and stomping on it!"

Kelly shook her head, "No… Hunter…"

Hunter shook his head as his fury grew. His face was as red as his shirt, or Kelly's hair. He was shaking due to holding in all his rage. If Kelly were a ninja, or any ordinary man, Hunter would have beaten her senseless by now. But she was a defenceless woman. If he hurt her physically, not only would he have to face possible assault chargers, but Sensei Omino would strongly reconsider letting him take over the Academies. Hunter was already on the way to losing his fiancée; he didn't want to lose his school.

"You did all this because you love me!" he shouted. Kelly opened her mouth to deny the truth, but Hunter cut her off before she could lie, "Tori told me what you told her! I know you like me! But you don't understand how true love works! Tori and I were in love. It doesn't matter if there are a thousand men out there who love her, or a thousand women who love me! I only had eyes for Tori and up until last night she only had eyes for me!"

"She didn't, Hunter. I did this to protect you!"

"Protect me?" Hunter screamed. If his fist had their way, they would have been pounding on Kelly's face.

"My feelings for you played a part… but if I thought I was wrong I wouldn't have said anything."

"Do you want the truth, Kel?" Hunter asked his rage still very evident in his voice, "The truth about everything?"

"What?"

"Your opinion is not the truth!" Hunter yelled, getting right up in Kelly's face.

There was a knock at the door, "Pizza guy," the delivery man said, holding up the box of pizza. Alex rushed over and took the money Kelly had left from the table. He grabbed the pizza and paid the man.

"Must be your most awkward delivery today," he commented.

The pizza guy shook his head, "With teen pregnancy and divorce rates so high, this is normal for me. Weird was having some man's poodle open the door with a wad of cash in his mouth."

Alex' looked at the delivery man in disgust, "Uh… keep the change."

The pizza boy smiled, "Thanks! Hey, I hope things work out between your parents!"

Alex chuckled and closed the door behind the pizza guy as he left. He turned to Hunter and Kelly who weren't amused at all with the delivery man's comment. He held up the box of pizza.

"I cooked!"

Hunter growled. He grabbed his jacket, which he had thrown to the couch in anger when he arrived. He put it on while glaring hatefully at Kelly.

"Eat your freaking pizza. I wanted to tell you yesterday, but I guess right now's the perfect moment. I fucking quit!"

"Hunter..."

"I expect you to pay me back in full for the wedding you ruined and the lives you destroyed!" Hunter shouted. "I don't give a fuck if these robbers come back, beat you senseless and take everything you own. I feel nothing for you, Kel. I want the money in cash by tomorrow, got it?"

"Hunter…"

"Got it?"

"If Tori really did love you like you loved her, why would she leave?" Kelly asked at the very last moment before Hunter stormed out of the house. She could see Hunter tense up as he froze. He stood, completely stiff for a moment, as if holding himself back.

"You made her."

"I didn't make her do anything. I…"

"She never would have done this if you didn't…"

"What about years later when Blake retires and is home to stay?"

"She loved me!"

"Loved," Kelly scoffed. Hunter ignored her comment and finally left.

Olivia grabbed a slice of pizza and placed it on a plate, "Hungry?" she asked her boss. Kelly shook her head.

"Not anymore."

"I don't know what you did to him, Madam, but you screwed up really bad. That Tori chick was hot!"

"Kitchen!" Kelly shouted as Alex scampered into the kitchen as quickly as he could. Olivia laughed and shook her head before catching her boss' look. In that same moment, the girl was also gone into the kitchen.

Kelly shook her wrist and massaged it as she looked at the mess she wished she could call home, "Murphy's Law would laugh if it saw what was happening to me right now."

A tear rolled down her cheek as she collapsed onto the couch, unsure of what to do next. It seemed she couldn't do anything right. Nothing was working out. Good or bad; it seemed there was no end to the mess she created.


	9. Tori Sees The Light

It had now been two weeks since the wedding that wasn't and Kelly had never felt so alone. Out of fear of losing his friendships with Hunter and Tori, Dustin had started working less and less at Storm Chargers. He claimed he had other reasons, such as more studying for the teaching degree he told Kelly he was working towards to cover up his true teaching job as Earth Sensei at the Wind Ninja Academy. Shane wasn't coming by Storm Chargers as much either in order to preserve his friendship with Hunter and Tori. He had no reason to be there in the first place, as there were other skateboard stores throughout the city.

Hunter and Tori were avoiding Kelly for the obvious reasons. The last time Kelly had seen Hunter was when she stopped by his place to pay him back what he claimed she owed him for the wedding she ruined. As for Tori, she couldn't pinpoint the very last time she had seen the blonde, but she knew it wasn't recent.

Blake had stopped by once or twice in the last week only because he knew what Kelly saw was the truth and he wanted to back her up, but lately he had stopped coming around. Kelly had no way of knowing, but she figured that he and Tori were starting to see more of each other. Last time she saw Blake he had subtly mentioned that Tori and Hunter were over and he flashed her a small wink. It was possible that she and Blake had hooked up and now, in order to keep his relationship with Blue Bay's Surfer, he needed to stay away from Blue Bay's Home Wrecker.

With Olivia and Alex' help, Kelly's apartment had been cleaned in record time. She was thankful the teenagers had stopped by because with her wrist it would have taken her a while to replace the furniture and lift some of the heavier items that had fallen. She had never been asked to explain why her wrist was bothering her, and now that it was healing, she was never going to have to talk about it.

Alex was happy for the extra shifts, now that Hunter and Dustin were either gone or weaning themselves out of a job. If he continued working at this rate, he would be able to buy his own car before the start of summer. Olivia found it a little difficult to balance work and school, but didn't complain about putting in the extra effort for Kelly. She didn't need the money like Alex did, but she valued Kelly's friendship and experience and that was enough to motivate her to help her boss in her time of need.

"Get out, get out, get out," Kelly heard Alex muttering from the surfboard display as he watched Olivia ring up the final customer of the day. Kelly shook her head and laughed as Alex stalked the customer with his eyes while he grabbed his bag and headed for the door. The moment he was gone, Alex jumped up from his hiding spot and closed the door, making sure to lock it.

"DONE!" he shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. He danced around, "My favourite time of day! Closing time!"

"Thank god," Olivia groaned as she dropped her head on the counter, "I'm about done! I'm going home and I'm crashing until Monday."

"You guys are really tired, aren't you?" Kelly asked her employees. They both nodded.

"Super tired," Olivia said.

"This is only temporary, I promise," Kelly assured the teens. "If Dustin doesn't come back I promise I'll hire new staff."

"Why did he leave?" Alex asked his boss. "You told us about Hunter, but Dustin was friends with you long before he met Hunter. Shouldn't he stick by you?"

"Well, what I did wasn't exactly something you should stand by," Kelly said, shrugging her shoulders. "I gambled with love. I guess the wedding wasn't the best time to…"

There was a knock at the door, interrupting Kelly as all three Storm Chargers employees turned to the glass to see who was trying to get in. Kelly held her breath when she recognised Tori.

"Will someone take me out back and just shoot me already?" she asked.

"She looks like she's begging to come in," Olivia pointed out. Kelly looked and noticed that Tori had her hands together, as if praying Kelly would open the door. Kelly took a deep breath.

"Alright, alright," she said. As she approached the door she looked at Olivia and Alex, "You two can go home."

"What if she yells at you like Hunter did?" Olivia asked.

"I'm a big girl, I can handle myself."

"We weren't much help then, Libby," Alex pointed out while laughing. He grabbed Olivia by the arm and pulled her to the back room, "The faster we punch out the sooner you can sleep."

"I wish I could… I've got huge exams coming up."

"I can't wait for eleventh grade…" Alex groaned before the two disappeared.

Kelly finally opened the door and let Tori inside. The blonde stepped in, almost nervously. She looked up at Kelly.

"Can they hear us?" she asked.

Kelly shrugged, "They're kids; they poke their noses into everything."

"I'm still mad at you," Tori said, but Kelly knew, just by the tone of Tori's voice, that this was only the start to something more. "I don't think I'll ever truly forgive you for what you did but…"

"But…?" Kelly asked.

"You might have been right," Tori continued, "About… my crush on Blake and… me replacing him with Hunter. I thought you were crazy at first but when it really sunk in and when you told me Blake still liked me, my feelings for him started coming back and my feelings for Hunter… disappeared."

"Not completely I hope," Kelly frowned. Tori shook her head.

"No… no! Definitely not. He'll always be special to me but… not husband special."

"I'm really sorry that I put you through all that," Kelly said. She carefully reached out, taking Tori's hand. "I probably should have done it before your wedding day. I just… I didn't know what to do. I didn't know I was going to do what I did until a few seconds before I did it."

There was an awkward silence between the two girls. Kelly shifted nervously.

"So, um," she began, "Why the change of heart for me? I thought it would be years of never before you started talking to me again."

"I'm with Blake," Tori said. "At first I thought it was just to spite you. You know like do what you thought was the truth and then prove to you that there was nothing between me and him by breaking it off and running back to Hunter but… when I realised I was in love with him, and it's only been a few days… I started to think about what you said to me and it made sense. It was stupid and not your business, but it made sense. I figured I at least owed you some kind of apology."

Kelly shook her head, "You didn't," she said. "I wasn't expecting one. Not now, not ever."

There was another silence before Tori jumped into Kelly's arm, taking the older woman by surprise with a hug. Kelly was grateful for the human contact and for her repaired friendship with her only girlfriend. She wrapped her arms around Tori and squeezed her gently before letting her go.

Tori took a few steps back and grabbed the door. She looked back at Kelly, "You know, I wish I could say I was that smart and saw the light all by myself, but Blake played a huge role in this. He talked to me about what you did and why you did it and how he believes you and stuff. The more he said it, the more I figured it was true and the pieces fell into place."

"So, you and Blake… really?"

Tori nodded, "It's just a new relationship. It's nothing big. It might not work out but I think its best that I explore this relationship before settling down. You were right to intervene before Hunter and I got married. I don't know what I would have done a few years from now when Hunter and I had kids and I started having feelings for Blake. I could never put Hunter or my kids through that kind of problem. At least this way… there are fewer victims."

"That's what I figured."

"But, next time you ruin people's lives, do it before they spend a fortune on a wedding that's never going to happen," Tori smiled. "I might make you less of a villain."

"Noted," Kelly laughed.

"And, um," Tori said, "Hunter's pretty pissed off at you. Well, he's pissed off at you, me and Blake, but at least he's still talking to us. He might never forgive you for what you did but… if he does and you and him want to have a relationship… I guess… you can… you know…"

"Okay," Kelly smiled before Tori had to say the words an ex-girlfriend never wanted to say, never mind an ex-fiancée.

"It's a long-shot," Tori warned her friend. "You might want to start looking at other guys. He might never come around and I don't blame him. I'm only here because… well… if it weren't for you I might have made a huge mistake."

With one final smile and a wave, Tori was gone.

The visit, though sudden and unexpected, had lifted Kelly's spirits. At least something good did come out of her evil deed. While she wasn't sure if Tori or Blake were going to last, she was almost certain she had stopped a marriage from failing. A ruined wedding, while devastating and hard to overcome, was better than a broken family.

But just because things had worked out with Tori, didn't mean Kelly had done the right thing. Hunter's feeling for the young surfer had been genuine. Whether he was replacing her for Blake or not, he had dedicated his heart and soul to her. To watch that walk away from him must have ruined him completely.

It was no wonder he had walked away.


	10. Help From Ocean Bluff

_Author's Note: A surprise little cameo coming up from the other team I was contemplating writing a story about. I just thought I would open up my options if this story were to progress further into a series and that way I could play with the whole Ninja Academy and Pai Zhuq issue many of us have questions about. Hope you all like it!_

When Hunter had stormed off, he had left for good. He couldn't stay in Blue Bay Harbour anymore, not with his ex-fiancée, his brother and the woman who ruined his wedding still residing in that city. He needed a place to go. Somewhere knew where he wasn't going to be the man who almost got married.

He had promised Sensei Omino that he would keep up with his training. He only needed a little bit of time off so he could clear his head. He was thankful, at this time, that the Thunder Ninja Academy wasn't in Blue Bay Harbour. The entrance for the Thunder Academy was just outside the city, between Blue Bay and a city called Ocean Bluff.

He had taken his retreat to the latter city so he was still by the ocean. Even after his Water Ninja had left him, the ocean still had a way of calming him. Its presence made everything seem a little better than it actually was.

As he walked along the pathway, just outside the beach zone, he noticed a man and woman were standing in the sand, fighting each other. He thought it was just flirting at first. After all, that was how he and Tori had flirted, but he then saw the man grabbing the woman and flipping her over his shoulder. Hunter jumped over the railing and raced over to the couple. He jumped, kicking the man in the chest and sending him sprawling.

"Casey!" the woman squealed as she jumped to her feet. The man, Casey, coughed as he held his chest with his hand and pushed himself up.

"Whoa, chill," he said to Hunter, who stood in a defensive pose before the woman, "We're just practicing."

Hunter frowned and turned to the woman. She nodded at him.

"It was his only good move," she chuckled. She walked past Hunter and helped Casey up. The boy in red smiled as he accepted her hand.

"Thanks, Lily," he whispered. As he dusted himself off he looked to Hunter, "That was a nice kick."

"Thanks," Hunter said. He was still a little embarrassed. Had he known these two were only training, he never would have interrupted. It seemed his Ranger instincts were still strong. He forgot the world was back to being peaceful. "You guys aren't half bad yourselves. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Casey and Lily exchanged a brief look.

"Casey owns a dojo," Lily said, "He's a real natural. I've been training for years and thought I would give him a few pointers for his next class."

"My students are really progressing," Casey nodded, backing Lily's half-lie. He did own a dojo, but he had learned to fight from the Pai Zhuq. Of course, he couldn't tell a citizen that. Casey smiled at Hunter, "How about you? You took me completely by surprise. I didn't hear or see you coming at all!"

"My dad's a Sensei of martial arts," Hunter lied, but again there was some truth. He did see Sensei Omino as a father figure and martial arts was basically ninjutsu. "I'm, Hunter by the way."

"Casey."

"Lily," Lily smiled. She looked back and forth between Casey and Hunter before feeling her stomach rumble. Casey was always hungry, she was hungry and this new friend must have been hungry as well. "I've never seen you in Ocean Bluff before. If you're new, maybe we can show you around sometime."

"We know a great pizza place," Casey added as he nodded and rubbed his stomach. "We know the owner too. I'm sure we can get you an employee discount."

Hunter shook his head and politely declined, "I'm sorry. I'm not exactly great company right now. Maybe another time?"

Lily furrowed her brow, "What happened? Maybe you can talk about it?"

"Lily," Casey groaned as he tugged on her arm. He looked at Hunter apologetically, "Sorry, she kinda thinks she can help the world."

"I was just thinking we could help," Lily frowned. "If he is new to the city he's probably trying to run away from his problems. He'll have to talk sometime."

"Yeah, with his friends. C'mon, Lil, RJ and Theo are waiting at JKP. We promised we'd be home."

Hunter took a deep breath as he watched Casey try to tug Lily away. He had been considering taking up her offer and talking to her. He knew that sometimes it helped to discuss problems with a strange, as they offered unbiased opinions and advice. He had done it frequently when his parents passed away and he knew that even just the chance to rant could help him out a lot.

"Maybe… pizza does sound good," Hunter said. "If the offer's still up."

"Of course!" Lily smiled. She grabbed Hunter's hand and started pulling him along. Casey only rolled his eyes as he followed the cheetah and stranger back to JKP.

-Forever-Hold-Your-Peace-

"… and then she left me," Hunter finished telling his story to both Casey, Lily, and a fourth member of the group, Theo, who had joined halfway through the meal.

"Bitch," Theo commented. He cleared the plates from the table, "That's all I have to say about her, Hunter. She doesn't deserve you."

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked the little boy in blue. Theo held the plates up and shrugged. He turned to one of the new waiters working at JKP and handed the load over to him before looking at Hunter again.

"It just sounds like she was clearing using you as a replacement for your brother," Theo answered. "I mean, why else would you date the brother of a man you slept with? I don't care if she really loved you or not. She sounds like a real bitch."

"Theo," Lily scolded, kicking her oldest friend's leg from under the table. Theo collapsed slightly, but caught himself before he hit the ground. He looked at Lily but she pointed an angry look his way.

"Sounds to me like a whole lot of trouble," Casey said. "I mean, Theo's right in a way, but that Kelly chick had no right to open her mouth. It's her fault your life is ruined. If she has a thing for you, it's clear she was just doing this to try and win you over. I say, don't let it happen."

Again, lily had to kick someone from under the table. This time it was Casey. She glared at the two boys.

"Why don't you go see if Danny and RJ need help in the kitchen?" she asked. Casey and Theo shook their heads, but another scowl from Lily sent them running.

Lily turned to hunter, "Want a woman's opinion?"

"You're not going to side against me, are you?" Hunter asked. "I don't care if that's how you see it, that's not what I want to hear right now."

"Tori's not as big a bitch as Theo is saying. She obviously didn't understand her true feelings and honestly thought she was in love with you. You're lucky she left before you started planning the second wedding, because this could have turned into a bigger mess than before. Kelly shouldn't have said a word at your wedding. If she really thought you and Tori weren't meant to be, she should have spoken to you two privately beforehand and let you both make a decision. Finally…"

Lily reached across the table and slapped Hunter over the head.

"Ow!"

"Why the hell are you sleeping with your brother's girl?" Lily asked. "Isn't there some kind of guy code that keeps men from doing that to each other? You were obviously looking for trouble!"

"What?"

"She slept with your brother right before he left! It's no wonder she still has feeling for him and vice-versa! If you were going to do anything with her, you should have waited until both your brother and Tori found closure! Permission's is no good! When Theo and I broke up none of the guys we were friends with ever thought of making a move on me!"

"You mean Casey?"

Lily frowned, "Ew… he's like a brother to me. I meant RJ or Dominic. Even Danny's keeping his distance because he's Theo's friend!"

"So, you're saying I'm the moron?"

"I'm saying you and your friends are all morons," Lily shrugged. "The minute you started your story with my ex-fiancée ran off with my brother, I knew where this was going. Maybe I watch too many soap operas and sappy movies, but it's just… obvious."

Lily slid out of the booth to leave Hunter to his thoughts, but before she left she gave him her last piece of advice.

"Look, I feel really bad for you, honestly, but I think this is a good thing for you. To me, it seems like the only unchanging factor in this was the unresolved sexual tension between your fiancée and your brother. They may have been suppressing it, but that wouldn't have helped anything. At least, at this point, all you have to worry about is yourself. You don't sound like you have anything except a house with Tori and you don't have kids to think about. Maybe the only good thing that Kelly woman did for you was stop you from having bigger problems."

"She's still a bitch!" Hunter called to Lily as she walked off. He held his head in his hands as he tried to think at all the different things his new friends had just told him. Was it possible they were all right? Was it possible Lily was right and that everyone, including himself, played a key role in the disaster of a wedding?


	11. Hunter and Kelly's Relationship

While Kelly no longer worried about theft in her home, she was still suffering from the last break in. She had bought back most of what had been stolen, such as the kitchen appliances, some sheets and a duvet. She had purchased some DVDs, but not all, and had found some books from a second-hand store.

Her TV, however, was still missing, and Kelly didn't think she was going to be able to afford a decent one for a while.

So, she spent another lonely night eating dinner on the couch without much to do. She could have taken one of her new books, but due to them being second-hand, Kelly was afraid of them falling apart. She was starting to regret purchasing them simply to fill up her bookcase again. One day she would get around to reading them, but tonight wasn't that night.

DVDs were out of the question, as Kelly had no TV and no laptop to watch them from. So, instead, she entertained herself by playing the messages from the answering machine.

There was one from Dustin, stating he couldn't work because he really had to cram for exams coming up. This made Kelly laugh. She couldn't picture Dustin studying. He didn't seem like the type.

There was a message from Tori, asking how Kelly was doing and to call her back. The two women were working at repairing their friendship and Kelly was happy Tori was giving her a second chance. She only wished the blonde would forgive her actions at the wedding, as it seemed to be the only roadblock.

Then the messages stopped. Kelly had barely touched what was on her plate. She let out a deep sigh before hearing a knock at the door. She rolled her eyes, thinking it was Olivia or Alex stopping by again. Didn't they have their own parents to bother?

She placed her plate on the coffee table and walked to the door.

"Alex, Libby, this is getting creepy," she called before opening the door. She was surprised to see that on the other side was Hunter.

"I haven't forgiven you," was the first thing he said. Kelly stepped aside.

"Um, okay, come in anyways," she said. Hunter walked in and noticed Kelly had cleaned up the house since the robbery. He had seen it before the cops or Kelly had shown up. He had actually been the one to passed the message indirectly to Kelly. He had stopped by her place just after the theft, with the intention of screaming at her some more, and saw the door had been left wide open.

While the place was clean and Kelly had some of her stuff back, it still looked relatively empty. He chuckled.

"Karma."

"Shut up," Kelly grumbled. She closed the door and walked back to the couch to eat her dinner, "What do you want?"

"I'm home," Hunter shrugged. Kelly looked up at him.

"I didn't even know you left."

"Really? With the way you're so in love with me I thought you would be stalking me."

"I'm not some sixteen year old, Hunter. I'm able to separate my emotions from reality. Just because I have feelings for you doesn't mean I'm going to let them dictate my life."

"You let them ruin my wedding."

"I'm sorry!" Kelly groaned. She was tired of hearing that and tired of apologizing. Tori brought it up almost every time she spoke to Kelly, and whenever the red head did get to speak with Shane and Dustin, the topic always seemed to surface.

"You don't sound sorry."

"If you're here to yell at me you can get the hell out of my house," Kelly stated firmly. "I can't change what happened that day. If I could, I would go back and let you marry Tori!"

"Oh, so you're just going to let me marry a woman who wouldn't ever be fully committed to me? Now you don't sound like a woman in love or a friend!"

"What?" Kelly gasped, completely baffled by what was coming out of the motocrosser's mouth. "I… You… ARG! Just... leave it alone! I was wrong, I was a bitch, yadda, yadda, ya! Do you want to shove and push and throw me down too? Here, let me put my plate down first!"

Kelly put her plate back on the coffee table and opened herself up for an attack. She knew Hunter wasn't going to hit her, but at least she was getting her point out. She was frustrated.

Hunter did contemplate hurting her. He envisioned it in his mind. But instead of actually doing it, he laughed. Kelly was turning red in anger. If he wasn't going to yell, scream or hurt her, why was he here?

Hunter took a seat on one of Kelly's chairs. He looked at his former boss, "Look, I hate you. I hate what you did, I hate how you did it and I hate every reason you have for doing it. But thank you."

"I'm going to wake up with a grey head because of you," Kelly growled.

"I talked with some people I meet in Ocean Bluff," Hunter explained. "They all had a different way of seeing this little… disaster. One of them said Tori's the bitch. I wanted to punch him. Another said it was you. I think he and I are going to be great friends. The last one, she thought we were all responsible for what happened. I think she's the most stupid human being to ever walk this planet."

"She has a point," Kelly nodded. "I think I like her the best."

"They all have a point," Hunter said. "Tori should have known what was going on between her and Blake before moving on with me! You should have just shut up and let Tori and I make our own mistakes, and I never should have tried to marry my brother's girl!"

"So?" Kelly asked. Hunter looked at her.

"So? So what?"

"Exactly," Kelly nodded, "Why are you telling me this? Wouldn't you want me to suffer?"

"Yes. I hate you so much right now… you're lucky your window is closed because I want to throw you from it and watch you splat on the pavement."

"Get out," Kelly pointed to her door.

Hunter stood up and smiled, "But… I'm going to punish you another way. I would like my job back."

"Um… okay…"

"Regular pay," Hunter smiled.

Kelly frowned, "Okay…"

"I'll tell Dustin he doesn't have to worry about picking sides anymore."

"Go on…"

"But," Hunter walked over to Kelly until his face was inches from hers. He looked down, into her soft brown eyes with a smile. Just when Kelly thought this was going to be a moment like in the movies where the arguing man and woman suddenly make out, Hunter pulled away.

"You and I are never going to be an item!" Hunter shouted. He pushed Kelly away. "Not now! Not later! Not ever! The furthest our relationship will ever go is work friends!"

"Okay," Kelly whimpered, shaking her head. She wasn't happy with this outcome, but she could understand where Hunter was coming from.

"I don't want you going out of your way to help me on any personal matters. We're not hanging out outside of work and you are not to phone, e-mail or talk to me on a personal level, got it?"

Kelly nodded, "Got it."

"Good," Hunter smiled. He held his hand out, "I'll see you at work, then?"

Kelly looked at his hand, unsure of what to do. Hunter noticed her hesitation and he dropped his strong, stoic stance. He let his shoulders fall forward slightly and his hand dropped.

"Kel?" he called, mentally slapping himself for using a nickname, even if it was only a shortened version of her name. "It's, uh, just a handshake."

"I know."

"You weren't expecting a hug, were you?"

Kelly shook her head, "No. I wasn't even expecting that."

She looked up at Hunter with a serious, yet gentle expression as she offered her hand and the two shook on their deal. When Hunter let go, he quickly turned around and left. Kelly watched, counting his footsteps as he walked to her door.

… Nine, ten and eleven. Eleven steps before the door closed behind him and he was gone. Kelly dropped back onto the couch and stared at her plate of food. She reached out and grabbed her glass of water from when she ate lunch, happy at this point that she hadn't put it away yet.

Suddenly and forcefully, Kelly tossed the glass at the wall, watching it shatter as she held in a frustrated scream. It wasn't like she had much of a chance of winning Hunter's heart. The outcome of her ruining his wedding would have had to be much different for things to truly end up the way she wanted. But to watch him leave her like that, and reduce their friendship into a professional relationship was probably worse than watching him marry a woman he didn't deserve.

On the other side of her door, Hunter was leaning against her apartment wall, playing over what had just happened in his head. While he did still hate her with a passion, there was a part of him that was second guessing his decision to downplay her role in his life from great friend to boss. She had seemed genuinely hurt and confused when he offered his hand. And the way she had whimpered when he told her there was never going to be anything between him…

Hunter breathed in deeply and pushed himself away from the wall. With great strength, he walked away.

**END**


End file.
